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Kikuyu Language online: vocabulary and conversation practice Updated on November 15, 2013
Updated Sept 2013
Emmanuel Kariuki
This hub will introduce you to the Kikuyu language. By the end of the article, you should be able to express yourself satisfactorily in Kikuyu. This will take a few months so plan a weekly programme and read small bits of the lessons at a time. The hub starts with a brief background of the Kikuy Kikuyu u people before progressing to the language, its structure and vocabulary. Finally, there are dialogues to aid you in conversation practice. You may request for additional help by posting a comment at the bottom of the articl arti cle. e. The correct name for the language is Gĩgĩkũyũ and the speakers are Gĩkũyũ.Kikuyu is the Anglicised form for both the both the language and the speakers. The word Kikuyu has gained literally currency and will be used in this hub to refer to both the people and the language. Gĩkũyũ was also the name of a patriarch ancestor.
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Kariuki is a Museum Exhibits Designer and author of several children's and young adults story books. He is also a gifted sculptor & painter MORE BY THIS AUTHOR Kikuyu Language: Numbers and Counting Learn the Luo language of Kenya: Vocabulary and Conversation Basics The Kikuyu language online: Future tenses Kikuyu girl weaving a 'kiondo' basket' From 'The Akikuyu, Akikuyu, by Rev Perlo of Consoata Fathers
(For Kikuyu Phonology Phonology see the hub http://hubpages.com/hub/Kikuyuphonology) Leakey (1959, p. Vii) says “Kikuyu is probably one of the most archaic of the Bantu languages and in consequence has a grammatical structure with fewer exceptions than in most of the others.” This would mean that Kikuyu resembles the ancestor of Bantu language (protoBantu), more than the other Bantu languages spoken today. At the time of Bantu migration all Bantu speakers probably, spoke som something ething similar to Kikuyu language than to any other Bantu language. I am of the same opinion, having identified archaic Kiswahili words that are no longer in use but are of everyday use in Kikuyu. This may imply that words that were in current usage in
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both Kikuyu and Kiswahili, long became becam e archaic in the latter but continue to be used by the former – the Kikuyu. The Kikuyu are classified linguistically as Highland Bantus together with the Kamba, Kuria and Gusii, Embu, Kurya, Tharaka, and Meru of Kenya(Ogot ed. 1980, p. 82). The other Highland Bantus in East Africa are the Meru (Tanzanian), Segeju, Sonjo, Ikoma, Chagga, Gweno, Shashi, Zanaki and Nguruimi of Tanzania. They are all of the Benue-Congo language division of the Niger Congo family (Ogot ed., 1974).
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Standard Kikuyu has three main divisions. These are Gaki (Nyeri), Metumi (Muranga) and Kabete or Kiambu Kikuyu (Muriuki 1974). Gĩkũyũ was not only a language but also the name of a patriarch ancestor. The Mount Kenya peoples and the Kamba of Eastern province are sometimes assumed by some people to be Kikuyu because the languages are inteligible. However some like the Meru are categorical that they are a separate tribe though I have found evidence to link them to the Kikuyu in a sort of confederacy in ancient times.
Defining the Kikuyu Some experts on the Kikuyu were asked to state the Kikuyuness of the mount Kenya tribes including the Akamba in a scale with Most Kikuyu and Least Kikuyu on the extreme extreme ends of the scale. All five (5) respondents felt that the Kikuyu of Muranga, Kiambu and Nyeri were “more Kikuyu” than the others. The Embu, Ndia, and Gichugu were closer to the Kikuyu than the Meru and subtribes. All the respondents were unanimous that the Kamba were not part of the Kikuyu but always in the periphery. Only one of the respondents was categorical that Nyeri, Muranga and Kiambu were the only true Kikuyu. I interviewed Dr. Muriuki, a History professor on 28 th - 09 – 06. Accordin According g to Muriuki, it is impossible to go beyond 500 years of Kikuyu history. Consequently, he considers Tene and Agu generations generations to have started around 1400 AD, about one hundred years before Vasco Dagama landed at Mombasa (in 1497). This was not in agreement with my findings - that if Akhenaten and Smenkhare correspond with tene (long ago) in Kikuy Kikuyuand uand Kare inMer u, u, then the history of the Kikuyu can be traced to at least three thousand years ago Akhena Akhenaten ten and the Kikuyu Kikuyu People People of Kenya Muriuki believes that the Kikuyu came from “Cameroon, near Lake Chad,” and moved into Kenya through Congo, Zambia and South Africa, before veering northwards into present day Kenya where they faced a hostile Somali at the Shebele river, in (today’s) North Eastern Kenya and stopped further movement. In their advance towards mount Kenya they “pushed the Igembe and Tigania leaving some of their people behind.” They then moved East into Tigania, Embu, Mwea, Murang’a (Mukurwe wa Gathanga), North into Nyeri, Mukurweini, Kahuhia, Maragwa and finally they expanded into Kiambu.
Archaic terms for months of the year. 1. January – Mũgaa 2. February – Mũratho 3. March – Kĩhu (beginning of the 'Njahi season) 4. April – Mũratho 5. May – Mũgiranjara 6. June – Gathathanwa converted by Web2PDFC eb2PDFConvert.com onvert.com
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both Kikuyu and Kiswahili, long became becam e archaic in the latter but continue to be used by the former – the Kikuyu. The Kikuyu are classified linguistically as Highland Bantus together with the Kamba, Kuria and Gusii, Embu, Kurya, Tharaka, and Meru of Kenya(Ogot ed. 1980, p. 82). The other Highland Bantus in East Africa are the Meru (Tanzanian), Segeju, Sonjo, Ikoma, Chagga, Gweno, Shashi, Zanaki and Nguruimi of Tanzania. They are all of the Benue-Congo language division of the Niger Congo family (Ogot ed., 1974).
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Common woman's attire
Standard Kikuyu has three main divisions. These are Gaki (Nyeri), Metumi (Muranga) and Kabete or Kiambu Kikuyu (Muriuki 1974). Gĩkũyũ was not only a language but also the name of a patriarch ancestor. The Mount Kenya peoples and the Kamba of Eastern province are sometimes assumed by some people to be Kikuyu because the languages are inteligible. However some like the Meru are categorical that they are a separate tribe though I have found evidence to link them to the Kikuyu in a sort of confederacy in ancient times.
Defining the Kikuyu Some experts on the Kikuyu were asked to state the Kikuyuness of the mount Kenya tribes including the Akamba in a scale with Most Kikuyu and Least Kikuyu on the extreme extreme ends of the scale. All five (5) respondents felt that the Kikuyu of Muranga, Kiambu and Nyeri were “more Kikuyu” than the others. The Embu, Ndia, and Gichugu were closer to the Kikuyu than the Meru and subtribes. All the respondents were unanimous that the Kamba were not part of the Kikuyu but always in the periphery. Only one of the respondents was categorical that Nyeri, Muranga and Kiambu were the only true Kikuyu. I interviewed Dr. Muriuki, a History professor on 28 th - 09 – 06. Accordin According g to Muriuki, it is impossible to go beyond 500 years of Kikuyu history. Consequently, he considers Tene and Agu generations generations to have started around 1400 AD, about one hundred years before Vasco Dagama landed at Mombasa (in 1497). This was not in agreement with my findings - that if Akhenaten and Smenkhare correspond with tene (long ago) in Kikuy Kikuyuand uand Kare inMer u, u, then the history of the Kikuyu can be traced to at least three thousand years ago Akhena Akhenaten ten and the Kikuyu Kikuyu People People of Kenya Muriuki believes that the Kikuyu came from “Cameroon, near Lake Chad,” and moved into Kenya through Congo, Zambia and South Africa, before veering northwards into present day Kenya where they faced a hostile Somali at the Shebele river, in (today’s) North Eastern Kenya and stopped further movement. In their advance towards mount Kenya they “pushed the Igembe and Tigania leaving some of their people behind.” They then moved East into Tigania, Embu, Mwea, Murang’a (Mukurwe wa Gathanga), North into Nyeri, Mukurweini, Kahuhia, Maragwa and finally they expanded into Kiambu.
Archaic terms for months of the year. 1. January – Mũgaa 2. February – Mũratho 3. March – Kĩhu (beginning of the 'Njahi season) 4. April – Mũratho 5. May – Mũgiranjara 6. June – Gathathanwa converted by Web2PDFC eb2PDFConvert.com onvert.com
7. July – Gathano 8. August – Mworianyoni 9. September – Mũgaa 2 10. October – Kĩhu 2 (Beginning of the 'Mwere season) 11. November – Kanyuahũngũ 12. December – Gatumu Kikuyu is similar to Arabic in its syllable structure. Arabic is a CV syllable language where “C” stands for a consonant and ‘V’ for a vowel (Cook 1997). Kikuyu however also allows for a VCV structure where a word can start with a vowel. The rule is that the word must end in a vowel. In Kikuyu a dog is called Ngui (CV) and Uga (VCV) means “say.” In Language La nguage Anthropologie Long Sleev e Phonemics, “NG” is a single Blouse Top size S or XS phoneme rendered with two graphemes. The English CVC Buy Now structure is not possible in Kikuyu but can work in Luo. An example of the word dog is given in the two languages: English - Dog (CVC); Luo – Guok (CVC).
Some common male Kikuyu names Karanja, Kamau, Kariũki, Mwangi, Kĩmani, Njoroge, Mũngai, Ndũn'gũ, Mũchoki, Mũngai, Kamande, Gĩtaũ, Kĩhara, Macharia, Mũirũrĩ, Wanjaũ, Wahome, Gĩthĩnji, Cege (Chege), Kĩragũ, Ngigĩ, Ng'ang'a, Wanderi, Gĩtonga, Wambũgũ, Watene, Mũkundi, Kĩnyua, Mũrĩu, Gathu, Mũgo, Mwanĩki, Gĩthaiga, Mũraguri, Chomba, Njũki, Gĩchũki, Mũnene, Gĩchũrũ.... Add Add ten to make make 50 For a bigger list of Kikuyu boys' names see the hub (URL)
Somee comm Som common on fe male Kikuyu names Wanjirũ, Njeri, Wanjikũ, Wangarĩ, Wambũi, Nyambura,Njoki, Wambũi, Wairimũ, Waithĩra, Nyagũthiĩ, Nyokabi, Wangũ, Kanyi (is a male name in Nyeri), Ngendo, Nyawĩra... Add Add to make make at least 50 For a bigger list of Kikuyu boys' names see the hub (URL)
Kikuyu vowels Gĩkũyũ is written with seven vowels (Leakey 1959, p. vii). Leakey compares the pronunciation of these vowels with the English language as summarized below: a – like the vowel in “hut” e – like the e in “hen” ĩ – as the i in “it”. I suggest suggest that a in “ate” is closer to the real pronunciation. pronunciation. i – like the e in “he” o – like the au in author. I suggest the o in “only” ũ – like the oo in “good.” I suggest the ‘o’ in “oh dear.” u – like the u in “who” Leakey (1959) notes that l, f, p, v, x and z consonants are missing in Gĩkũyũ and that the Gĩkũyũ r is something between r and l. Leakey also states that that c is pronounced ch and b “has a touch of f, v and p”. I suggest suggest that b is like the sound bh in the Indian word “mahabharat.” Gĩkũyũ Gĩkũ yũ is a tonal language and the orthography in current usage is inadequate. converted by Web2PDFC eb2PDFConvert.com onvert.com
For example the word iria can mean ‘a lake (The Kikuyu language does not differentiate between between a pool of water, a lake or even the sea. They are all 'Iria', or 'Maria' in plural, the plural being mainly for stagnant pools.)’ ‘those’ or ‘milk’ depending on the tone. When the stress is on the last syllable – ‘a’, with a higher tone than at the beginning, the word means milk. When the word is said with a monotone with no stress on any syllable, the word means a lake. The units that define tones in a morpheme have been termed “tonemes” by linguists (Martinet 1964). Martinet describes “melodic “melodic tones” as another characteristic of some languages. While tones manifest themselves in individual morphemes, melodic tones manifest themselves in sentences. It appears to I that Gĩkũyũ is both “tonal” and “melodic tonal”.
Gĩkũyũ nouns.
The Kikuyu alphabet made simple
Leakey has identified ten classes of nouns. The first three classes of nouns in Gĩkũyũ represent things which are considered to have a spirit. Leakey divided them according according to the importance im portance of the category of spirit, which they are deemed, to possess.
1. Class I - these are nouns denoting human beings. Humans may be removed from this class to another class (but still retain a spirit) due to scorn or hatred, or otherwise for having “some special connection with religion, or magic…” Examples of class one nouns are: Mũndũ – Person, kamũndũ - small person, Kimũndũ - big person (derogatory and should be avoided.), Andũ- many people, imũndũ - many large persons (derogatory and should be avoided.). Mũndũ ũyũ mũraihu ni mwega – this tall person is good. (Note that t he prefixes in the adjectives have to agree with the noun.
Mũtumia – married woman, Gatumia - small woman (derogatory and should be avoided.), Gĩtumia - big woman (derogatory and should be avoided.), Atumia many women, Ndumia - many large women (derogatory and should be avoided.) Gatumia gaka gaka karaihu ni kega – this smallish tall woman is good (note that
Gatumia is diminutive. The adjectives again have to agree with the noun. However, the prefixes that agree with Ga are Ka and Ga. One has to learn through usage which one to use appropriately. Mũirĩtu – initiated girl, Kairĩtu - small girl. Kairĩtu gaka karaihu ni kega – This smallish tall girl is good.
Mũanake – Unmarried initiated man Mũanake ũyũ mũraihu ni mwega – this tall (young) man is good
2. Class II nouns have second class spirits, lower than that of humans. Most large trees and plants. Epidemic diseases which are viewed as being spirit borne would According Accordi ng to Leakey (1959) normally normally go to class II III, I, but for some some reason may may find themselves in class II. Below are four examples. Mũrimũ - spirit-borne disease Mũrimũ ũyũ ũyũ ni mũru- this disease is bad (note again that the adjective has to agree with the noun).
Mũkũyũ - another kind of fig tree besides the mũgumo Mũkũyũ ũyũ ũyũ ni mũkũrũ – this fig tre e is old Mũtamaiy Mũt amaiyũ ũ - wild Olive Mũrũthi - lion converted by Web2PDFC eb2PDFConvert.com onvert.com
3. Class III - nearly all birds, reptiles, insects, mammals, and many lesser plants, are in this class. Below are some examples. Humans in this class have received quite a demotion. Njangiri - an outcast
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Njangiri ino ni ndwaru – this outcast is sick
Ngĩa - pauper Ngombo - serf or slave Njamba – brave warrior
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Njamba ĩno ndungu nĩ nguhĩ - this brave is fat and short
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4. Class IV Nouns are mainly lifeless objects: some are man-made, others are natural. Some pitiable humans held in disrespect, “scorn or hatred” find themselves in this class. Some examples are given below:
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Kĩrĩgũ - big uninitiated girl (derisive)
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Kĩhĩĩ - big uninitiated boy (derisive)
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Kĩhĩĩ gĩkĩ kĩa maina nĩ gĩkĩgu – this maina’s boy is foolish
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Kĩhembe - drum Gĩtonga - a miser (derisive). I is of the opinion that in current usage, the word means a rich person and is not derisive.
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5. Class V has items of “ceremonial, religious and magical significance.” Leakey explains that the eye, riitho, is in this class because of its potential for magic and as the “evil eye.” Humans who play a very special religious part in family life find themselves in this class, such as:
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Ithe, (plural) ma-ithe – father
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This is an interesting word because it translates as ‘their father.’ You use it when you are referring to other peoples’ father. You never use it when you are referring to your own father, in which case you will say ‘Baba.’
Nyina, (Plural) Manyina – mother Like ‘Ithe’ this word translates as ‘their mother’. When you are referring to your own mother you use the word ‘Maitũ.’
Guka, (plural) Maguka - grandfather The word in brackets can be ignored without changing the meaning.
1. Monday – (Mũthe nya) wa mbere - the first day (not in common usage) , Jumatatũ- from Kiswahili (in common usage)
2. Tuesday - (Mũthe nya) wa kerĩ - the second day 3. Wednesday – (Mũthenya) wa gatatũ – the third day 4. Thursday – (Mũthenya) Wa kana - the fourth day
5. Friday – (Mũthenya) wa gatano – the fifth day, (Mũthenya) Juma – from Kiswahili . 6. Saturday – (Mũthenya) wa Jumamothi – f rom Kiswahili. The logical (Mũthenya) wa gatandatũ, is not used today. 7. Sunday - (Mũthenya) wa Kiumia – literally the day of coming out/stopping
what you are doing. The logical (Mũthenya) wa mũgwanja – the seventh day -is not used. converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
The Kikuyu did not perform a duty for more than seven days continuously without a break for fear of a bad omen. ………………………………………………………
Months of the year – Requested by Bosko The Kikuyu had a year with two seasons and twelve moons (months). These names are not in use today except by anthropologists. I have put them in the introduction text for those interested in archaic language. T he following terms are what the Kikuyu use on a daily basis.
January – (Mweri) wa mbere, the first month, Janwarĩ, February – (Mweri) wa kerĩ, the second month, Beburwarĩ March – (Mweri) wa, gatatũ, the third month, Maci April – (Mweri) wa kana, the fourth month, Ĩbrũ May – (Mweri) wa gatano, the fith month, Mĩĩ June – (Mweri) wa gatandatũ, the sixth month, Juni July – (Mweri) wa mũgwanja, the seventh month, Juraĩ Augst, - (Mweri) wa ĩnana, the eighth month, Ogasti – being a borrowed word, the ‘s’ is forcefully pronounced. September – (Mweri) wa kenda, the nineth month, Thebutemba October - (Mweri) wa ikũmi, the tenth month, Oktoba November – (Mweri) wa ikũmi na ũmwe, the eleventh month, Nobemba December - (Mweri) wa Dithemba - the logical (Mweri) wa ikumi na ĩrĩ, the twelfth month,is not commonly used.
A. Parts of the body mũtwe - head Njuĩrĩ - hair Iniũrũ - nose Kanua - mouth Igego- tooth, magego – teeth, Ikaburu – molar, makaburu - molars Kĩreru - chin nderu – beard, materu - beards riitho – eye. maitho – eyes, butu - eyelashes ngingo - neck kĩande – shoulder, ciande - shoulders guoko – hand, moko - hands Kaara – finger, tũara fingers ( Tuara, with a change of tone,also means deliver something somewhere) igokora - elbow Nda - stomach Gĩthũri - chest M ũkonyo - Belly button Njohero - Waist K ĩ ero – thigh, ciero - thighs converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Kũgũrũ – leg, magũrũ - legs ikinya – foot, makinya - feet ( also foot steps) Clothing and related ite ms Nguo - clothes, Nguo cia mwĩrĩ - clothes for the body - mwĩrĩ body Shati - shirt, Thuruarĩ - Shorts/pants, Mũbũto - Trousers
Thogithi - socks, Ngobia - hat/cap, tai - necktie, Mĩwani - spectacles, kiratũ - shoe, Iratũ- shoes, Taritari - sandals Gĩtabaya - cloth, Gĩtabaya kia mũtwe - Head scarf Mindira - ear rings, Bangiri - bangle(s), Mbete - ring, Mũgathi - necklace
B. the Kikuyu Sentence – Prefixes, nouns and adjectives The noun forms the subject of the sentence. Kikuyu nouns have a stem attached to a prefix. For example the noun for house is nyũmba. In this case the same word applies for plural. To this stem, several prefixes can be attached to change to another meaning associated with ‘house.’
Kanyũmba – small house, Kĩnyũmba – big house, tũnyũmba – small houses, Manyũmba – big houses The word for person is Mundũ. In this case the stem is –ndũ, with the Mũ signifying a living thing.
Kamũndũ – small person, Kĩmũndũ – big person , Tũmũndũ – small persons, Andũ - many People, Adjectives and verbs have to agree with the noun in a sentence by having the same prefix as the noun, except in a few cases. A house – Nyũmba, is one exception only in its singular. When we say a big house or small house, the agreement has to take place. You will notice that the translation into English is forced because what makes perfect sense in Kikuyu may be awkward in a non Bantu language. Note specifically the transformation of the word for ‘one, two and three etc.’
Nyũmba ĩmwe nene - One big house Kanyũmba kamwe kane ne – One smallish big house. Kĩnyũmba kĩmwe kine ne – One bigish big house Ngari ĩmwe ne ne - One big car, Ngari ĩgĩrĩ nene - two big cars Mũtĩ ũmwe mũnene – one big tree, Mĩtĩ ĩrĩ mĩnene – two big trees Bathi ĩmwe nene – One big bus (this is one instance when the ‘B’ is not not pronounced as ‘bh’, perhaps because the word is borrowed from English ‘bus.’ ‘S’ becomes ‘th’ in borrowed words. Cũcũ ũmwe mũnene – One big grandmother Ngigĩ ĩmwe ne ne - One big locust Ngamĩra ĩmwe nene – One big camel Igogo rĩmwe ine ne – One big crow (bird) Nati ĩmwe nene – One big nut (the one that locks into a bolt) Njogoo ĩmwe ne ne – One big rooster Karamu kamwe kanene – one big pen. The Ka in Karamu is not a prefix as the word is borrowed from Kiswahili – Kalamu. Machini ĩgĩrĩ nene – Two big machine. Noti ithatũ nene – three big notes (money) Rangi ũmwe mũnene – one big paint Taũni in a nini – four bi town converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Umbuthĩ mũingĩ – a lot of powdery stuff Waru ithano ndungu - Five fat potatoes
Pronouns – Niĩ – me, Wee- you, Inyuĩ – you (plural), Ithuĩ – we, O – them, We – him/her, yo – it, or Yo, Guo, Kĩo, Ko, - depending on the Noun class. The pronoun ‘ guo ’ will not apply to all non human objects. It will depend on the class of object. Guo – mũbira – it - ball; Yo – ngombe – it - cow, Yo – nyoka – it - snake, Yo – metha – it - table; kĩo – kĩuũra – it – frog, Ko – koora – it – small frog; etc. The ‘wee’ for ‘you’ plural is said with a long vowel to differentiate from the one for‘him/her.’ The ‘we’ for him or her is said with a short vowel to differentiate from the one for‘you.’ Kikuyu does not differentiate gender, so it would not matter if the sentence was ‘she is a student or he is a student.’
Positive, Negative and interrogative statements –To be
1. Positive It is not necessary to start with the pronouns eg. Niĩ – me but people often do . We shall put the Kikuyu pronouns in brackets to indicate that they can be ignored. · (Niĩ ) Ndĩ mũndũ - I am a human. · (Wee ) wĩ mũabirika - You are an African. · (Ithuĩ ) Turĩ akenya - We are Kenyans. · (Inyuĩ) mũrĩ ega – you (plural) are good · (O) nĩ arutwo - They are students · (We ) nĩ mũarimũ – He/She is a teacher. · (We ) nĩ mũrutwo – He/She is a student. · (Guo) nĩ mũbira - It is a ball.
2. Negative To negate a sentence one uses the terms ‘not’ and ‘have not.’ Ti – is not, Ndĩrĩ – I have not , ndũrĩ – You have not, etc. (Niĩ ) Ndĩrĩ mũndũ - I am not a human (Wee ) ndũrĩ mũabirika - You are not an African (Ithuĩ ) Tũtirĩ akenya - We are not Kenyans. · (Inyuĩ) mũtiumĩte rũraya – you (plural) are not from Europe
(O) ti arutwo - They are not students (We) ti mũarimũ – He/She is not a teacher (We) ti mũrutwo – He/She is not a student
(Guo) ti mũbira - It is not a ball
3. Question In a question, the statement is similar to the positive. The difference is in intonation. You start on a high note and end on a low note. (Niĩ ) Ndĩ mũndũ? - Am I a human? (Wee ) wĩ mũabirika? - Are you an African?
Ithuĩ Tũrĩ aken a? - Are we Ken ans? converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
(O) nĩ arutwo - Are they students? (We) nĩ mũarimũ - Is he a teacher? (We) nĩ mũrutwo - Is she a student?
(Guo) nĩ mũbira - Is it a ball?
To have The Kikuyu words in brack ets can be ignored without changing the meaning of the sentence
1. To Have – Positive (Niĩ) Ndĩ na ibuku - I have a book. (Wee) wĩ na thani - You have a plate (Ithuĩ) Tũrĩ na ikombe - We have cups (O) mari na itĩ - They have chairs
(Inyuĩ) mũri na tũramu – You (plural) have pens (We) e na mũkwanjũ - He has a walking stick (We) e na kĩondo - She has a bag Burana ĩna ihoro (irima) – the sweta has a hole
2. to Have – Negative (Niĩ) Ndirĩ na ibuku - I do not have a book (Wee) Ndũrĩ na thani- You do not have a plate (Ithuĩ) Tũtirĩ na ikombe- We do not have cups (O) matirĩ na itĩ - They do not have chairs (Inyuĩ) mũtirĩ na tũramu - You (plural) do not have pens (We) Ndarĩ na mũkwanjũ- He does not have a walking stick (We) Ndarĩ na mũkwanjũ- She does not have a bag Burana Ndĩrĩ na ihoro (irima)- the sweta does not have a hole
3. to Have – Question (Niĩ) Ndĩna ibuku?- Do I have a book? (Wee nĩ ) ũrina thani?- Do you have plates? (Ithuĩ nĩ) Tũrĩ na ikombe?- Do we have cups? (O nĩ) marina itĩ? - Do they hav e chairs?
(Inyuĩ nĩ ) mũrĩ na tũramu ?- (plural) do you have pens (We) e na mũkwanjũ ? – Does he/she have a walking stick? (We) e na mũkwanjũ?- Does he/she have a bag? (Burana) ĩ na ihoro (irima)? - Does it have a hole?
4. more negatives K ĩndũ/ti kĩndũ - Something/Nothing, O na rĩ - never, Nĩ kũrĩ/gũtirĩ - There is/there isn’t Nĩ kũrĩ mũndũ/gũtĩrĩ mũndũ – there is someone/there is no one, nobody Tu - only converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Ndiũĩ nĩkĩ - I do not know why Gũtirĩ kĩndũ kĩega ta iria - There is nothing as good as milk Ndinyuaga thigara - I do not smoke, ndanyuaga – he/she does not drink Ndinyuaga njohi - I do not take alcohol, matinyuaga – they do not drink, Ndĩrĩ mĩnoga - It is not tiring Ndũkũona mũndũ - You will not see anyone, matikũona – they will not see, tũtikũona – we will not see Gũtirĩ kĩndũ gĩtigarite - There is nothing remaining, matigari – remains (of something), gũtigara, to remain, gũtigwo –to be left behind
C. Indo cia nyũmba – Riikoinĩ - Household objects – in the kitchen 1. Rĩrĩ ni riiko rĩa mahiga - This is a stone hearth 2. Rĩrĩ rĩngĩ nĩ rĩa thitima - this other one is an electric cooker 3. Ĩno nĩ jiko ya makara - this is a charcoal cooker (Jiko is borrowed from Swahili and only refers to a charcoal cooker). 4. Ĩno nĩ nyũngũ ya kũrũga gĩther i - this pot is for cooking githeri 5. Wĩna thani cigana? - how many plates do you have? 1. Rehe thani ĩmwe na gĩkombe kĩmwe - Bring one plate and one cup 2. Rehe iciko igĩrĩ - Bring two spoons 3. Akia mwaki wa kũruga irio - Light a fire for cooking food 1. Wĩna mũiko wa gũkima ngima? - Do you have a wooden ladle for making ugali ? 1. Kĩha kĩbiriti kĩa gwakia mwaki? - Where is the matchbox to light the fire? 2. Rĩkia gwakia mwaki ũkime ngima - Finish lighting the fire and make ugali 3. Thambia indo icio - Clean those utensils 1. Indo irĩkũ? - Which utensils? 1. Thani, ikombe na thaburia - plates, cups and na metal pots 2. Nĩtwarĩa twahũna - We have eaten and are now full
D. Some Kikuyu riddles (Adopted from a std. IV reader by Catholic Mission Press, Nyeri 1935)
1. Mwanake wakwa arĩ itimũ nda - Njũki (my son has his spear in his stomach – a bee) 2. Mbũri ciathiĩ mbere ciatiga gĩtune thutha – rukungu (the goats have gone ahead leaving redness behind – dust) 3. Warĩmĩrwo mũgũnda ũtatũmanĩte – kiguũ ( your farm has been ploughed without your consent - flash flood) 4. Mwathiĩ na mũndũ ũtegũkwĩra hurũka – kĩruru ( you have walked with a person who does not ask to rest – shadow) 5. Ndaikia mũgwĩ mũraya – ritho (I have thrown a long spear – eye).
E. Conjugation in Kikuyu
1st person In this section, the sentences have been translated in the the order – Word; Literal translation (in brackets) ; Actual meaning; Verb
Niĩ -Me
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ũka - come Nĩ ndĩrarĩra Nĩ-ndĩ-r-a- rĩra - (I have cry) I am crying rĩra - cry Nĩndĩrarĩa Nĩ-ndĩ -r- a -rĩa - (I have eat) I am eating rĩa - eat Nĩndĩraria Nĩ-ndĩ - r- aria - (I ave speak) I am speaking aria - speak Nĩ ndĩrakena Nĩ-ndĩ-r-a-kena - ( I have happy) I am happy kena -be happy Nĩ ndĩratheka Nĩ-ndĩ-r-a-theka - (I have laugh) I am laughing theka- laugh Nĩndĩrathiĩ Nĩ-ndĩ-r-a-thiĩ - (I have go) I am going thiĩ - go Nĩndĩrathoma Nĩ-ndĩ-r-a-thoma - (I have read) I am reading thoma- read Nĩndĩrandĩka Nĩ-ndĩ-r-andĩka - ( I have write) I am writing andĩka – write
2nd person Singular Wee – you Nĩ ũroka - You are coming Nĩ ũrarĩra - You are crying Nĩ ũraria - You are talking Nĩ ũrakena - (You are being happy) You are happy 3rd person singular We - him/her Nĩ aroka - he/she is coming Nĩ ararĩra - he/she is crying Nĩ araria - he/she is talking Nĩ arakena - he/she is happy
F. Colours in Kikuyu language 1. Purple - Gakarakũ 2. Blue - Mbirũirũ 3. Red - Mũtune 4. Orange - Ngoikoni 5. Yellow - Ngoikoni 6. Green - Nyeni 7. Black - Mũirũ
8. Grey - Kĩbuu , kĩmũhũ 9. White – Mwerũ
Rangi mutune – Red colour (Red paint) As can be seen above, the Kikuyu did not differentiate between yellow and orange
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G. Nyamũ cia kurĩithia - Domestic animals Ngombe – cow, njaũ – calf, Ndegwa - bull Mbũri – goat, thenge – billy goat , harika – female goat Ng’ondu – sheep, Koori – kid, Mũgoma – female sheep, ndũrũme – Male sheep. Note the word Mbũri is also means the all sheep and goats collectively.
Ngamĩra – camel (not kept by the Kikuyu) Mbata – duck, gacui – duckling, Ngũkũ – chicken, gacui – chick, Mwera – hen, njamba – cock (these were not domesticated in pre-colonial times and were seen as mere birds - food for the uninitiated). Mbũkũ (thungura) – rabbit (were not domesticated in pre-colonial times and were seen as food for the uninitiated). Mbata – duck, gacui – duckling, Mwera – female, njamba – male. Nyamũ cia gĩthaka – wild animals Mũrũthi - lion Ndũiga - giraffe Wambũi micore - zebra Thwariga – antelope (not clear which one) Thiia – antelope (not clear which one) Ngatata – wildebeest Njogu – Elephant Mbwe – jackal Hiti – hyena Huria – Rhinocerous Nyoto – Cheatah Nguuo – Hippo King’ang’i – Crocodile Mbogo – buffalo Ngarĩ – Leopard Imperatives Imperatives are orders, requests or suggestions. In Kikuyu Imperatives, the pronouns are represented by one or two syllables as indicated in capital letters below. In the case of warnings, the pronouns are prefixes ahead of the verb. For emphasis, the pronoun in brackets may be used. However, even if it is ignored, the meaning is retained because the prefixes in Capital letter s below will still identify the pronoun. The following verbs have been used as examples: Gũtheka - to laugh, Kũrĩa – to eat , Gũthiĩ – to go, Gũkoma – to sleep.
(Niĩ) NDIgatheke – I will/should not laugh (NDI – this prefix stands for the pronoun, I); NDikarĩe , NDIgathiĩ, NDigakome (Ithuĩ) TŨTIgatheke – we should not laugh (TŨ- this prefix stands for the pronoun, we); TŨTIkarĩe , TŨTIgathiĩ, TŨTIgakome (We) NDŨgatheke – do not laugh (NDŨ prefix represents You, singular): NDŨkarĩe , NDŨgathiĩ, NDŨgakome (This WE like the WE in WEATHER is said in a monotone to differentiate it from the ‘ ou’ lural . converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
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(Inyuĩ) MŨTIgatheke – do not laugh (MŨ – You, plural): MŨTIkarĩe , MŨTIgathiĩ, MŨTIgakome (We) NDAgatheke – he.she should not laugh (NDA – him/her, singular): NDAkarĩe , NDAgathiĩ, NDAgakome (O) MATIgatheke – They should not laugh (MA – them): MATIkarĩe , MATIgathiĩ, MATIgakome In orders of requests, the pronoun is followed by the prefix NI at the beginning of the verb, except for YOU plural which is represented by the ‘I’ at the end of the verb. The pronouns in brackets can be ignored without changing the meaning since there is another version of the pronoun in the verb.
(Niĩ) ThekE? – May I laugh? NDĩe , thiĩ, NGOkome (Ithuĩ) NĩTŨtheke – let us laugh, NĩTŨrĩe , NĩTŨthiĩ, NĩTŨkome (We) ThekA – Laugh (a - You singular), rĩa , thiĩ, koma (note that in you singular, prefixes are not present) (We) Atheke – He/she should laugh. (This ‘We’ is said with a rising tone to differentiate it from the ‘you’singular). Arĩe , Athiĩ, Akome (Inyuĩ) Thekai - laugh (i - you, plural), MŨrĩe , MŨthiĩ, MŨkome (O) MAtheke – they should laugh, MArĩe , MAthiĩ, MAkome
H. Dialogues Dialogue 1. Wĩ mwega, Njoroge?How are you Njoroge? Nĩ kwega mũrutani. Fine, teacher Ũreeka atĩa? What are you doing? Ndaathiĩ thukuru I am going to school Ũthoomaga thukuru ĩrĩkũ? Which school do go to? Thoomaga thukuru ya andũ agima. I go to an Adult Education School Nĩ ũũi kwandĩka? Do you know how to write? Niĩ njũũĩ kwandĩka o na gũthooma Gĩkũyũ I know how to write and to read Kikuyu
Dialogue 2 Good morning = We mũega rũciinĩ / kĩroko Good afternoon = We mũega umũthĩ (today)
umũthĩ - today Good evening = We mũega hwaĩinĩ All right = nĩwega I am happy to know you = Nĩndakena nĩ gũkũmenya Where do your parents live? = Aciari aku maikaraga kũ My parents live in Nairobi = Aciari akwa maikaraga nairobi I am doing a degree in languages = Ndĩrathomera ndigirii ya thiomi (rũthiomi language)
Dialogue 3 - Plural
Plural is represented by the words after the hyphen
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How are you? = Wĩ mwega? - Murĩega I am fine = Ndĩmwega (ndirĩ ũhoro) - Turĩega How was your safari? = ũhoro wa rũgendo What is your name? = Wĩtagwo atĩa - Mwĩtagwo atĩa My name is Mwangi = Njĩtagwo Mwangi - Twĩtagwo Mwangi How is work? = ũhoro wa wĩra nĩatĩa? What work do you do? = ũrutaga wĩra ũrĩkũ ? - Mũrutaga wĩra ũrĩkũ ? I drive a taxi = Ndwarithagia tegithi - Tũtwarithagia te githi Welcome = nĩndakũnyita ũgeni - Nĩndamũnyita ũgeni Thank you very much = Nĩwega mũno I need a Taxi = Nĩndĩrenda (Nĩngwenda) tegithi - Nĩtũrenda (Nĩtũkwenda ) tegithi I am going to Hilton Hotel = Ndathie (Ndĩrathie ) Hiritoni - Twathie (Turathie ) mũkawa wa Hiritoni Fine, you go = Haya, gĩthiĩ Fine, let's go = Haya, nĩtũgĩthiĩ (nĩtũthiĩ )
A dialogue in Kikuyu Source: Focus Publishers, Nairobi Below is a translation of the speech bubbles in the photo novel above
"Hĩ, ndahota kũona kamweke ga gũkorwo na M orris." - wow, I might get a chace to be with Morris. "Angĩkorwo gũtirĩ ũndũ ungĩ, no njuge mũcemanio wa ũmũthĩ wa Vibandani Youth Club nĩ wathira." - If there isn't anything else, I can say that today's meeting of Vibandani Youth Club is over. H ĩ - exclamation like 'Oh my.' Ndahota - I might be able, nĩngũhota - I will be able . Nĩũkũhota - you will be able . Nĩekũhota - She/he will be able , Nĩmũkũhota - You (plural) will be able. Nĩmekũhota - they will be able, Nĩtũkũhota - we will be able kũona- to see, ona - see, nĩ ndona - I have seen , nĩ wona? - have you seen? kamweke - a small chance, Mweke - chance gũkorwo na - to be with, no gũkorowo - maybe, To gũkorowo - Maybe (interogative, ending in a question). Angĩkorowo - If gũtirĩ - there isn't, nĩ kũrĩ - there is. ũndũ ungĩ - something else, kaũndũ - small something no njuge - I can say, ũga - say, nĩ ndoiga - I have said, mũcemanio - meeting, gũcemania - to meet ũmũthĩ - today, ira - yesterday, iyo - the day before yesterday . converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
rũciũ - tomorrow, oke - day after tomorrow. nĩ wathira - it is finished (note that the prefix 'wa' agrees with the noun 'mucemanio ) Mai nĩ mathira - the water is finished Wira nĩ wathira - the work is finished Andu nĩ mathira - the people are finished Sukari – nĩ wathira - the sugar is finished Nyeki nĩ yathira - the grass is finished. (Like in English, grass is singular). Mbeca nĩ ciathira - the money is finished
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Sample dialogues from a Kikuyu Photo Novel Nyumba ya Maithori Source: Courtesy of FOCUS PUBLISHERS, Nairobi
Translation of the four pictures above Morris: It is as if those people did not want to see us. I believe they have sent us away without a reason. Susie: That home did not please me at all....
SECOND PICTURE Morris: Also, I was not happy with the way they are treating that boy called Musa. How can they beat up a child in front of visitors?
THIRD PICTURE Kiosk man: Are you talking about Musa from the House of Mercy? Morris: Oh yes, do you know him?
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FOURTH PICTURE Kiosk man: I know him very well. I go there to donate food often. Musa wants to talk to visitors all the time. Susie: May be there is something he wants to say.
Dialogue 4 A passenger is looking for transport to Kariobangi – Pronounced Karũibang’i in Kikuyu.
1. Wathiĩ kũ mũthii? Where are you going?
2. Ndathiĩ Karũibang’i. I am going to Kariobangi 3. Haica ngari ĩĩrĩa. Ĩno nĩ ya mathare. Take that vehicle. This one goes to mathare.
4. Nĩ ngatho. Thanks. 5. ĩno nĩ ya karũibangi? Is this one to Kariobangi?
Modern Gikuyu: A concise introduction to the Kikuyu language (kasahorow English Gikuyu) Buy Now
Hear the Lord's Prayer in Kikuyu
6. Ĩĩ nĩ yo ingĩra naihe nya, mĩtũkĩ mĩtũkĩ mama. Yes it is, get in quickly quickly Mama.
7. Nyita guoko ndikagwe. Hold my hand so I don’t fall . 8. Ĩkarĩra gĩtĩ gĩkĩ na ũrehe mbeca. Sit on this seat and bring the money.
9. Ni cigana? How much? 10. Ciringi mĩrongo ĩtano. Fifty shillings. 11. Hĩ! Karĩ goro atĩa? My!How expensive?
12. Ti goro mama nĩguo tũrĩhagia. It is not expensive, that is what we charge. 13. Ke igana rĩmwe ũnjoke rie mĩrongo ĩtano. Take this one-hundred shillings and give back fifty shillings.
Vocabularly
Mũthii - traveller Haica – climb, uma – get out Ngatho - gratitude Nyita - hold Mĩtũkĩ, naihenya – quickly, with speed Mbe ca, mbia - money Gwa – fall, Kũgwa to fall Goro – Expensive, raithi – cheap Cokia – return, Njokeria – return to me, Mucokerie Dialogue 5 - Two strangers have just met 1. We - You 2. Nĩwaragia rũthiomi rwa Gĩkũyũ? Do you speak the Kikuyu language? converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
3. We wĩ Mugĩkũyũ? – Are you a Kikuyu? 4. We wĩ Mũndũ wanja? – Are you a female? 5. Kana wĩ mũndũrume? – Or are you a male? 6. We wĩ mũndũ mũru – You are a bad person. 7. Wĩtagwo atĩa – What is your name? 8. Kwanyu nĩ kũ? – Where is your home? 9. Kwanyu nĩ Thĩka – Is Thika your home? 10. We wĩ mũndũ mũkuhĩ mũno – You are a very short person. 11. Ũrutaga wĩra kũ – where do you work? 12. Nĩũreruta kwaria gĩthweri? Are you learning to speak Kiswahili? 13. Thiĩ kwanyu na we ga – Go home in peace (farewel) 14. Na ũgeithanie – and pass my greetings. Dialogue 6 A shopkeepe r and a customer Mwendia wĩ mwega? How are you seller? Ndĩmwega mũno Njeri. Uga. I am very fine Njeri. Say. Nyenderia cukari kiro igĩrĩ na macani ma kiro ĩmwe. Sell to me two kilos of sugar, and one kilo of tea leaves Ũyũ cukari; maya macani. Here is the sugar: here are the tea leaves. Na matumbĩ matandatũ. And six eggs. Kaĩ ũtarĩ wanina mũtu kuma rĩrĩa wagũrire. Haven’t you finished the flour since you bought it. Wa ngano ndũthiraga naihenya. Wheat flour doesn’t get finished fast. Ĩ mũtu wa mbembe? What about Maize flour? Hĩ! Na ni weka wega nĩ kũndirikania. He wa kiro igĩrĩ. Wow! You have done a good thing to remind me. Give me two kilos. Ũyũ mũtu. Nĩ ũguo ndare? Here is the flour. Is that all so I may add up? Asha. Ndĩna ageni na ndirĩ na iria. Rehe mbagiti ithatũ. No . I have visitors but I don’t have milk. Give me three packets. Nĩndatara. Rehe magana mana ma mirongo itatũ. I have added up. Give me four hundred and thirty. Ke M agana maya matano. Take this five hundred. Ke cĩnji – mĩrongo mũgwanja. Take your change – seventy shillings. Nĩ ngatho. Nĩtũonane hĩndĩ ĩngĩ – Thanks. See you another time . Dialogue 7 Mũici wa ũtukũ – the night thief 1. Ira ndiraire toro – I did not sleep last night. 2. Nĩkĩ? Kaĩ ũrarĩ na wĩra ũrĩkũ? – Why? What work did you have? 3. Atĩ wĩra. Ndũkire ngũhe ũhoro - Work? Keep quiet as I tell you 4. Thiĩ na mbere - continue
5. Ndĩrarugire ngima, ndĩrarĩa na tũnyeni – I made some ugali , and ate it with some greens 6. Ũrarĩa na tũnyeni? Ndũrarĩ na kanyama? - You ate with some greens? Did you not have some meat? 7. Tiga itherũ. Ũyu nĩ ũhoro wa kĩeha - Stop jokes. This is a grave matter. 8. Hĩ! He ũhoro - Wa! Tell me (give me the information) 9. Ndinathambia indo. Ndĩroi ngũcithambia rũciine - I did not was the dishes. I thought I would do that this morning.
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10. Ũracitiga maĩini - So you left them in the water. 11. One ũguo. Ndirathiĩ gũkoma - Exactly. So I went to sleep 12. Urarĩ mũnogu mũno - You were very tired? 13. Ndĩrarĩ mũnogu re ke ngwĩre – I was tired, I tell you. 14. Ndĩraigwire mũndũ arũgamĩte oharĩa ndĩ – I heard someone standing near me 15. Kaĩ ũrarotaga? - Were you dreaming? 16. Kũrota? Katarĩ mũici ũrarũgamĩte oharĩa ngomete – Dreaming? It was a thief, standing right where I was sleeping. 17. Kaĩ ũtanahinga mũrango? - Did you not lock the door? 18. Nĩũndũ wa mĩnoga rĩ, ndinahinga nyũmba – Due to tiredness, I did not secure the house. 19. Arendaga atĩa? - What did he want? 20. Thimũ, te rebiceni, mũtũngi wa ngathi, na mbeca iria ciothe ndĩrarĩ nacio – Phone, television, gas cylinder, and all the money that I had. 21. Ũrarĩ na cigana? - How much did you have? 22. Ngiri ikũmi na ĩmwe na Magana mũgwanja – Eleven thousand, seven hundred. 23. Nĩũthiĩte borithi? - Have you been to the police? 24. Asha. Ndwara kuo oro rĩũ - Not yet. Take me there right now. Vocabularly – Brackets indicate alternative meaning. Ira – Yesterday (snow) Kũrara – to spend the night. Ndiraire – I did not spend the night Toro – sleep (as a noun), Thiĩ toro – go to sleep, E toro – he/she is sleeping Koma – Sleep (as an adjective) - Thiĩ ũkome - go to sleep, Nĩ akomete - he/she is sleeping Nĩkĩ?- why?, Nĩkĩĩ? - what is it? Ũrarĩ – you were, kaĩ ũrarĩ – were you? Wĩra ũrikũ – which work? Ngari ĩrĩkũ? - which car? Nguo irĩkũ? - which clothes? Maĩ marĩkũ? – which water? Mwaki ũrĩkũ? - which fire? Gĩthomo kĩrĩkũ? which lesson? rĩu – now, oro rĩu - Just now (right now) Dialogue 8 Andũ mwanya mwanya - Diferent persons 1. Niĩ – me; Niĩ mwene – I myself (emphatic); Niĩ ũyũ – here I am 2. Wee – You; wee mwene ; Wĩ kũ (Wĩ ha)? – where are you? 3. We (short vowel) – him/her ; We mwene; eha? – where is he/she?
4. Inyũĩ – You (plural); Inyũĩ ene; Mwĩha? – where are you? 5. O (short vowel) – them; o ene; Meha – where are they? 6. Mũndũ– person; Kamũndũ – small person ; Kĩmũndũ Andũ – people ; tũmũndũ – small people; imũndũ – big people 7. Mwana – child ; Kana – small child; Kĩana; big child Ciana – children; Twana- small children ; 8. Mũiretu – girl; kairĩtu- small girl; kĩirĩtu – big girl, Airĩtu – girls; Tũirĩtu – small girls 9. Mwanake – young man ; kĩmwana – big young man Anake – young men; Imwana – big young men 10. Mũndũrũme – a man; mũrũme – husband converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Arũme – men 11. Mũndũmũka (muka) – woman ; Mũtumia – married woman Aka – women ; Atumia – marriedwomen 12. Mũthuuri – old man (husband) ; Mũthee – old man
Athuuri – old men (husbands) 13. Guka – grandfather; Gacũkũrũ (gacũcũ) – Grandchild Maguka – Grandfathers; tũcũkũrũ (tũcũcũ) - grandchildren 14. Cũcũ – Grandmother; Nyakĩnyua – Fairly old woman (who is allowed to take alcohol).
15. Mũingĩ – crowed of people 16. Mũteti – politician ; Mũgo – diviner priest ; Mũrathi – seer; mũrogi – witch/wizard Ateti; Ago; Arathi; Arogi – plurals for no. 16 above 17. Mũrigiti (ndagitarĩ) – doctor; 18. Mũndũ mũirũ – African (Black person); Mũthũngũ – Eropean (any white person); Mũhĩndĩ – Indian (any asian).
Dialogue 9
Ciana na nyina – children and their mother 1. Kamau kinya magego – Kamau, brush your teeth 2. Nĩndĩmakinyĩte. Rĩu nĩ nguo ndĩrehumba – I have already brushed them, I am now dressing 3. Ĩ wee njeri nĩkĩĩ ũreka? – and you Njeri, what are you doing? 4. Ndĩrabanga mabuku makwa mũhukoinĩ – I am arranging my books in the bag. 5. Ukai mũnywe cai naihenya mũtanacererwo – come (plural) and take (plural) tea quickly before you (plural) are late. 6. Nĩtũnyuĩte maitũ – We have taken it, mother. 7. Kiumei mũthie kwĩ ithe wanyu – Then get out and go to your father
Vocabulary
Mwana – child; Ciana- children Gũkinya magego – to brush teeth, mũkinyi – Toothbrush, Kwĩhumba – to dress, Mwĩhumbĩre – style of dressing, matonyo - fashion Maitũ/mami – mother, Nyina – his/her mother, nyũkwa – your mother Mwari wa maitu – my sister (My mother’s daughter), Mwari wa nyina, Mwari wa nyukwa Baba – Father, ithe – his/her father, ithe witũ – our father, Thogwo – your father Mũrũ wa baba – Brother (my father’s son – used for stepbrother), Mũrũ wa ithe, Mũrũ wa thogwo Kũbanga – to arrange, to pack, Uma – come out, Umai – come out (plural), Kiume – then come out , kiumei – then come out (plural) Tata – Auntie (on mother’s side), Mama – uncle (on mother’s side) Baba mũnini - Uncle on Father’s side but must be younger than father (literally small father) ’ converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
a a father)
r – nc e on a er s s e u mus e o er
an a er
era y o
Note that all aunties on father’s side are all called Tata. All wives of paternal uncles are adressed as 'Mother.' All cousins on both sides are brothers and sisters and any sexual relationship with them is incestuous.
Dialogue 10
Mũndũ na mũtumia wake – a man (person) and his wife 1. Nyina wa maina, ũkĩra – Maina’s mother, wake up. 2. Nĩngũkĩra, he dagĩka ithano - I will wake up, give me five minutes 3. Atĩ dagĩka ithano? – Five minutes? 4. Ndiganĩtie toro – I haven’t had enough sleep
5. Nĩũramenya nĩngũcerer wo? – Do you know I will be late? 6. Reke njũkĩre ngũhiũhĩrie maĩ ma gwĩthamba. – let me wake up to heat bathwater for you. 7. Ruga cai naihenya Ngĩthamba – make tea very fast as I take a bath. 8. Nĩkĩĩ ũmũthi, kaĩ wĩna ihenya rĩa kĩĩ? – Why today, why are you in such a hurry? 9. Twĩna mũcemanio – We have a meeting 10. Kaĩ mũkoragwo na mĩcemanio hĩndĩ ciothe? – Do you have meetings all the time 11. Umũthĩ anene othe nĩmegũka – Today all the bosses will come 12. Maĩ maku magwĩthamba nĩmahiũ– Your bath water is ready 13. Hũrĩra mũbuto ũyũ na cati ĩno bathi – Iron this trouser and this shirt 14. Cai ũrĩhĩa rĩ ndaruta mawĩra mau mothe? – When will the tea get ready if I do all those chores? 15. Ngwihũrira bathi na hake iratũ rangi – I will iron and polish my shoes myself
Vocabularly Hũra – beat, hũra nguo bathi – iron clothes, hũra nguo – wash clothes, hũra ngari mwaki – start a car , hũra thimũ – make a telephone call Hũrĩra – beat for me, Hũrĩra nguo bathi – iron clothes for me , wihũrire nguo bathi – iron clothes for yourself , ni Ngwihũrira – I will iron for myself
Kikuyu Women, the Mau Mau Rebellion, and Social Change in Kenya Buy Now
Kuhaka - to apply any liquid or paste. He – give me, mũhe – give him/her, mahe – give them, tũhe – give us, ke- take, oya - pick Nyina wa maina; Nyina wa Njeri – It is respectable to call a wife as the mother of the first born, in this case – Maina/ Njeri.Often it is shortened to ‘ Wa Maina/wa Njeri - of Maina/Njeri. Ũkĩra – get up; wake up, Nĩngũkĩra – I will wake up (now); Nĩngokĩra – I will wake up (tomorrow) Kũigania – to have enough, Ndiganĩtie – I have not had enough , Igania irio – have enough of that food (literally – Stop eating) Kũmenya – to know, Nĩũramenya – do you know, niwamenya – have you known (just now) ; Niũkũmenya – You will know (today), Niũkamenya – You will know
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Dagĩka – minute, Thaa – time, Mũthe nya – day, ũtuko – night Hĩndĩ (hingo) ciothe – all the time Wira – work, mawĩra- jobs Cai – tea, ũcũrũ – porridge, njohi – beer, mũcemanio – meeting; mĩcemanio – meetings; gũcemania – to meet Gomana – meet; magomano; meeting point(meetings); Kũgomana – to meet
Dialogue 11 Wonjoria – Trading 1.Agĩkũyũ nĩ mendete kũĩyandĩka – Kikuyu people like to be self employed
2.Mũno marutaga wĩra wa wonjoria – they mostly work as traders 3.Mawĩra ma wonjoria nĩ maingĩ – there are many trading jobs 4.Kũrĩ magũraga nguo cia mũtumba Nairobi – some buy second hand clothes in Nairobi 5.Magatwara nguo icio mataũni mangĩ ta Naikuru na Naivasha – they take those clothes to other towns like Nakuru and Naivasha. 6.Onjoria angĩ magũraga maciaro ma mĩgũnda – Other traders buy farm produce 7.Maciaro ta mbembe, mboco, ngwacĩ, ndũma… – produce like maize, beans, sweet potatoes, arrow roots…
8.Matunda ta macungwa, maembe, makorobia na ndimũ. – Fruits like oranges, mangoes, avocados and lemons. 9.Onjoria angĩ maigaga nduka, ithĩi cia mbembe kana ngari cia matatũ – other traders have shops, maize mills or public transport vehicles. 10.Matũkũ maya kwĩna mawĩra ma mĩthemba mĩingĩ mũno – These days there are many different kinds of jobs 11.Kwĩ mĩtambo ya kompiuta, mathukuru ma ũbundi wa kompiuta ona wĩra wa kwendia kompiuta - There are computers networks, schools to teach computer technology and even to sell computers. 12.Ũngĩenda kũruta wĩra wa biacara ĩrĩkũ? – Which business would you like to do?
Vocabulary - Kwandĩka - to write, to employ, Kwĩyandĩka - to be self employed - Wonjoria - trading, mwonjoria - trader, onjoria - traders - Kwenda - to love, nĩngwendete - I love you, Mwendwa wakwa - my lover, nĩ mendete - they love - Gũthĩa - to grind into flour, Gĩthĩi - a grinding machine, mũthĩi - person grinding - nguo cia mũtumba - second hand clothes - Twara - deliver,take to, gũtwara - to deliver, to take to
Dialogue 12 Mĩthenya ya heho – cold days 1. Hĩ! Kaĩ kwina heho-ĩ! – Lo! It is very cold-oh! 2. Kaĩ wĩ mũrũaru? – are you sick? 3. Wanjũria ũguo nĩkĩ? – Why do you ask me such a question? converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
4. Tondũ gutirĩ na heho – because it is not cold 5. We! Ta-ĩkĩra burana – you! Just put on a cardigan 6. Kwĩna ũrugarĩ – It is hot (warm) 7. Urenda kũrũara? – do you want to fall sick? 8. Ngwĩhumba burana na kabuti – I will wear a cardigan and an overcoat. 9. Mweri wa mũgwanja ũkoragwo na heho mũno – the seventh month (July) is usually very cold
Vocabularly Kaĩ – this is a prefix that turns a statement into a question. Adding a syllable ‘ ĩ’ at the end of the sentencecancels out the question back to an emphatic statement. Kwĩna heho – it is cold, Kaĩ kwĩna heho? – is it cold? Kaĩ kwĩna heho - ĩ ? It is really cold Heho – cold, ũrugarĩ – heat, warmth, Mwaki – fire, Gĩchinga – a burning stick Burana – cardigan, sweater, igoti – coat, Kabuti – over coat, mũrĩngĩti – blanket, Ĩkĩra – put (in this case ‘put on – wear), Kwĩhumba – to wear Mweri – month (moon), mũno – very much
Dialogue 13 This conversation was requested by fjbosko, a follower of this hub. The word in brackets is an alternative for the word before it.
Wanjikũ: Njeeri', there are many people at your compound. I don't know how they are relatives. Who is Jerusha? Njeeri, kwĩna andũ aingi mũciĩ waku. Ndiũĩ mũtaranie atĩa. Jerusha nũũ ? NJEERI: Jerusha is the first wife of Mwangi. Jerusha nĩ mũtumia (mũka) wa mber e wa Mwangi WANJIKŨ: And Kamau?
Ĩ Kamau? NJEERI: Kamau is the eldest [big] son of Mwangi. Kamau nĩ irigithathi rĩa Mwangi. WANJIKŨ: And whose house is that?
Na ĩrĩa nĩ nyũmba yaũ? NJEERI: That is the house of the last wife (The word for ‘small’ is used to mean last)
Ĩrĩa nĩ nyũmba ya mũtumia (mũka) ũrĩa munini WANJIKŨ: Truly. And who is Maria ?
Nĩguo? ĩ Maria nũũ NJEERI: She is the grandmother.
Nĩ cũwe WANJIKŨ: Thank you. Note: Cũcũ – Grandmother, Cũwe – His/her grandmother
C – pronounced as SH. But in some localities it is pronounced as ‘S’
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Vocabularly
1. Kwĩna (nĩ kũrĩ) – there is (in a certain place) 2. Nyingĩ – many (things), Aingĩ – Many (people), tũingĩ – many (small things) Depending on the noun class, we can also say Maingĩ – eg. Maũndũ maingĩ (Many things)
3. Gũtarania – to calculate, to relate, to think hard, Nĩ tũtaranĩtie – we have calculated, we are related, we have thought very hard. 4. Irigithathi – First born, 5. Kĩhĩnga-nda – Last born (the one who closed the stomach) 6. Nda – stomach, womb, 7. Nyũngũ ya mwana – womb (the baby’s pot) 8. Nini – small, young 9. Mũtumia mũnini – Small wife (where there is one or more older wives, the youngest is said to be the ‘small wife’) 10. Ũũ? – who? Nũũ, who is it? 11. Nĩ a? - who are they, 12. Ni ĩnyuĩ a – who are you? Inyuĩ! You people! 13. Guka – Grandfather, gukawe – his her grandafather, gukagwo – your grandfather 14. Mũka – wife, his wife, Mũkagwo – your wife, Aka – women, wives, gaka 15. Yakwa – mine, Yake – his/her, Yao – theirs, Yanyu – Yours (plural), Itũ ours (plural)
Dialogue 14 This conversation was requested by fjbosko, a follower of this hub.
Nĩndamũgeithia inyũothe - Greetings to all of you. Nitwageithĩka – we have received greetings (said in response to the first line in this dialogue) Amũkĩrai ngeithi - Greetings to all of you. Nĩtwamũkira – we have received Geithĩkai - Greetings to all of you. Nĩndakũgeithia - Greetings to you (singular). Nĩndageithĩka – I have received greetings Amũkĩra ngeithi - Greetings to you (receive greetings). Geithĩka - Greetings to you (be greeted) Inyuothe nĩmũgũka ndũnyũ? - Are you all coming to the market? Ĩĩ, nĩtũgũka ndũnyũ ithuothe - Yes we are coming to the market, all of us. Ĩ rĩu (ũcio) nĩ irigithathi rĩaku? - And is that your first born? Ĩĩ (ĩni) – Yes Asha tiwe – no he/she is not the one Maitũ, arĩa nĩ a? - Mama, who are those? Arĩa nĩ ageni – those are visitors Ũcio aarĩ tata wa baba - That was the aunt of your father. Nĩ mwarĩ wa nyina na ithe wa thoguo - She is the sister of the father of your converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Niĩwe kĩhinga nda na ũrĩa nĩ mwarĩ wa nyina na mũka (mũtumia wake) - He is the last born and that is the sister of his wife. = Ũrĩa nĩwe irigithathi – ũcio ũngĩ nĩ mũrũwanyina na mũka - That is the firstborn, the other is his brother-in-law (Note: I have not heard a term for brother-inlaw??????).
Vocabularly
Ngeithi – greetings, Geithania – greet people (usually told to someone who is leaving). Geithĩka – get greeted (literally) Amũkĩra – receive Inyũothe – you all, ithuothe – we all, marĩothe (othe) – all of them Ndũnyũ – market Mũgeni – visitor, Ageni – visitors, ũgeni – a visit Mwarĩ – girl, daughter
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The following translation was requested by Christine on 22rd November 2011
Wanjirũ wanted to go home with you but she has changed her mind
Wanjirũ arendaga Kũinũka nawe no nĩe ciria ũndũ ũngi Inũka - go home Kũinũka - to go home no - but Meciria - thoughts ũndũ ũngi - Something else Wanjirũ are ndaga Kũinũka nawe no nĩagarũra meciria ndĩragarũra - I changed Nĩndagarura meciria – I have changed my mind nĩagarũra - he/she has changed kũgarũra - to change Note that the English word Change has been borrowed into Kikuyu as Cenjia – change, gũcenjia - to change
Wanjirũ arendaga Kũinũka nawe no nĩacenjia meciria – Wanjiru wanted to go with you but she has changed her mind
Dialogue 15
This a conversation was re quested by Bosko. The brackets indicate alternative words for those preceding. Wanjikũ: ĩ aya magĩũka - Here they come! Njeeri: Mũrĩega? (ũhoro wanyu?) Nĩ ndamũnyita ũgeni (nĩ ndamwamũkĩra) Kenya - Hi! Welcome to Kenya.
Njĩtagwo Njeeri, na ũyũ haha nĩ Kamau - I am Njeeri and here is Kamau. converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
, I am Nancy. Nice to meet you.
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John: Niĩ njĩtagwo John. Ndĩ mũrutwo kuma Amerika - And I am John. I am an American student Wanjikũ: Uhoro waku John? Nĩ wega (Nĩndakena) muno nĩ gũkũmenya Hello John. Very nice to meet you! John: Nĩ waragia gĩthũngũ? - Do you speak English
Wahota kwaria Gĩthũngũ - Can you speak English Njeeri: ĩĩ nĩ twaragia Gĩthungu - Yes, we speak English
Ona Gĩthweri - and also Kiswahili No twendete kwaria Gĩkũyũ - but we prefer to speak Kikuyu. John: No njaragia Gĩkũyũ kĩnini tu - But I speak only a little Kikuyu. Wanjikũ: ũraria wega mũno. Nĩ ũranyita?(nĩ ũraigua?) - You speak very well. Do you understand? John: Ndĩranyita (Ndĩraigua) wega mũno - I understand it well Wanjikũ: Ni wega! - Great!
Nĩ wega! One! Haya! Nĩ wega mũno! (nĩ ngatho) - Good! All right! Very well! Thank you! John: Onawe wĩ mũrutwo? Are you a student too? Wanjikũ: ĩĩ, ndĩ mũrutwo, no Njeeri nĩ arutaga wĩra. Nĩ mũinjinia - Yes, I am a student, but Njeeri works. She is an engineer. John: ũthomagĩra kĩĩ – What do you study? Wanjikũ: Thomagĩra thiomi yunibathĩtĩ ya Kenya - I study languages at the university of Kenya.
Ĩĩ we John? ũthomagira kũ? - And you John? Where do you study? John: Tũthomagira New York - We study in New York. For some reason, we do not use ‘ini’ for towns to mean ‘in’
Njeeri: New York nĩ tauni nene ma - New York is certainly a great city. John: Nĩ ma nĩ nene - Indeed it is. Wanjikũ: Mathandũkũ mothe me haha? - Are all the suitcases here? John: II, me haha - Yes, they are. Wanjikũ: Nĩ tumagare (nĩ tũthiĩ) - Let’s leave Nancy: Ngaari ĩ ha (ĩ ha ngaari)? - Where is the car? Wanjikũ: Kwa mũtino ngaari n ĩ thũku - Unfortunately, the car is broken
Tũguthiĩ na mbaathi - We are going by bus. Ĩno mbaathi ya gũthiĩ (gũtũtwara) taũni - Here is the bus to take us downtown. John: tũkũrĩha mbeca cigana – How much shall we pay?
Tigiti yumaga mbeca cigana? - How much does the bus ticket cost? Tigiti nĩ wa thogora ũrikũ? – what is the cost of a ticket? Njeeri: Nĩ ciringi mĩrongo ĩrĩ - It costs 20 shilings.
The word ‘welcome’ does not exist in Kikuyu. It is common to here people say ‘werokamu,’ or ‘karibũ’- borrowed from English and Kiswahili respectively. The appropriate terms are ‘Nĩ ndakũnyita ũgeni (nĩ ndakwamũkĩra),’ I have received you as a visitor, used here in singular. This is followed by ‘ ũigwe wi mũciĩ’ – feel at home.
Mũtino – bad luck, bad omen, an unfortunate event Ũthomaga – you study, ũthomagira - you study for, You study at converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
thogora - Cost, yumaga - it costs, gũthogorana - Buying and selling(this is much more as it includes bargaining).
Dialogue 16
Wĩ mũhiku? - (question to a woman) Are you married? Ĩĩ ndĩmũhiku – (response by a woma) Yes, I am married. Nĩ ũhikanĩtie ? - (question to a man) Are you married? Ĩĩ nĩhikanĩtie – (response by a man) Yes, I am married. In Kikuyu it is the man that marries. The woman gets married. Women cannot say “ I married my husband.” This might imply that she is the ‘man’ in the house. Nĩ ũrĩ ciana? – (asked to an individual) Do you have children? Nĩ mũrĩ ciana? – (asked to a couple) Do you have children? Ĩĩ tũrĩ ciana ithatũ. Ciothe ni ihĩĩ (tũothe ni tũhii) - (if they are preteens or uncircumcised) Yes, we have three children, all are boys. Ĩĩ tũrĩ ciana ithatu. othe ni anake – (if they are teens or circumcised)Yes, we have three children, all are boys.
Ĩĩ wee mũthuuri ũyũ, nĩ ũhikanĩtie? - And you, Sir, are you already married? If you want to massage someone’s ego, you can call him ‘ mutongoria’ – leader, for sir.
Ĩĩ, nĩhikanĩtie , no tũtir e hamwe na mũtumia – yes I am married but we are not together with my wife (Yes, I am married, but my wife and I have separated). Ndũkamake mũtongoria – Do not worry (for ‘I am sorry Sir.’) Nĩ wega (nĩ ngatho) ni kũnyũmĩrĩria – thanks for the support Ahota gũcoka – She might come back. (Perhaps we will be able to get back again.) In Kikuyu culture, it is the woman who left the husband and then came back after negotiations between the families.
Ndikwenda kũmũte – I do not want to throw her out (I don’t want a divorce) In Kikuyu there was no term for divorce. A man could throw out his wife ( gũte – to throw out), or the woman could run away ( kũũra – to run away). In either case the extended families would meet to resolve the differences. Today, the English word ‘divorce’ would be used to give the modern living where divorces are extremely common.
Ndihikĩte, no ndĩna mwendwa - No, I am not married, but I have a lover (fiancé). Etagwo Kamau - He is called Kamau. Ũkwenda kũhika rĩ - When do you expect to get married? Ndĩrenda (Ngwenda) kũhika ndarĩkia gĩthomo - I want to get married after completing my studies. Andũ aitũ nĩ maharĩirie maũndũ mothe ma ũhiki - Our families have already made all the wedding arrangements, Kwoguo twĩhokete kũhikania mũthia (mũisho) wa mwaka ũyũ - So we expect to get married at the end of this year. Ngai enda (mwathani enda) - God willing! Vocabularly Kũhota – to be able, Ndahota – I might (I might be able), No hote – I can, no ũhote - you can, twahota – we can Ndingĩhota – I cannot (I cannot be able) Ũmĩrĩria – be strong; persevere Ũhiki ( kĩhiko) - wedding converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Mũhiki – bride Mũhikithania – the official presiding over the wedding (eg. Priest) Mũhikania – Bride groom Kũharĩria – to prepare K ĩ h ĩĩ – uncircumcised male
Q. I dedicate this song to Nyambura
A. Rwĩmbo rũrũ nĩ rwa kũgocithia (gũkumia) Nyambura Rwĩmbo rũrũ- this song, nĩ rwa – is for Ngumo means is fame. So to dedicate is like to make famous, to honour by bringing fame to so and so. Kumia – bring fame to so and so by singing, or just pr aising. Goca – praise, Kũgoca to praise. Kũgocithia – to cause praise to come upon someone or thing. Kũgoca Ngai - to praise God
Extracts from a Kikuyu Phot Novel Nyumga ya Maithori (The House of Tears) Source: With kind permision of FOCUS PUBLISHERS, Nairobi
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Translation of the above picture Kiosk man: Maybe it’s how you talked to them. Many things depend on how you present yourself. Susie: You are right there. Or should we attempt to go back?
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jean2013 asked the following question: Hi id like to know how u say, go warm food in kikuyu. Id appreciate.
Answer: Thiĩ ũhiũhie irio Thiĩ (Thi as in this and ĩ like the A in Air ) ũhiũhie (ũ like the O in Oats) Irio - this is the word for all food, though it is used by non Kikuyu to mean the Marshed foods that Kikuyu's make with bananas and greens and sometimes substituting the bananas with potatoes. One can also say: Thiĩ ũhiũhie kĩndũ gĩa kũrĩa kĩndũgĩa kũrĩa - something to eat
More Kikuyu language resources Kikuyu Language: the Lord's prayer and other christian terms Kikuyu Names for Girls and their meaning According to the Myth of Origin, God made Gĩkũyũ and placed him near Mount Kenya at a place called Mũkũrwe wa Gathanga God saw that he was lonely and gave him a wife, Mũmbi. Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi were blessed with nine daughters, but no sons. The daughter Kikuyu Names for boys and their meaning The Kikuyu people of Kenya have a very specific way of naming children. The first born son is always given the same name as his paternal Grandfather. The old man is usually very eager to be named and may start insinuating that 'he wants to be born' The Kikuyu language: Past tenses The Kikuyu language is one of the most archaic of the Bantu group. It is spoken by about 20% of the Kenya population, mainly in Central Province and the Rift Valley. The Kikuyu language: Future tenses Kikuyu Language phonology Gĩkũyũ is written with seven vowels. Two of the additional vowels are i-tilde (ĩ) and u-tilde (ũ). These are: a (low /central), e (ɛ Mid-low/Front), i (high/front), ĩ (e Mid-high/Front), o (ɔ Mid-low /Back), u (High/Back), ũ (o Mid-high/Back). Kikuyu
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A Kikuyu man experiences snow
References 1. Cook, V., 1997,Inside Language, Anorld, London 2. Leakey, L.S.B., 1959,First Lessons in Kikuyu,Kenya Literature Bureau, Nairobi 3. Landar, H., 1966,Language and Culture, Oxford University Press, New York. 4. Steible, Daniel, 1967,Concise Handbook of Linguistics, Peter Owen, London.
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Emmanuel Kariuki 25 hours a o from Nairobi, Kenya
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What exactly are you trying to say with these words? Kana gathaka mũno, tene na tene Cũcũ Emmanuel Kariuki 25 hours ago from Nairobi, Kenya
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What exactly are you trying to say with these words? Kana gathaka mũno, tene na tene Cũcũ Sheba Marley 4 days ago
Niatia Emanuel, Can you help, I want to quote my sons grandmothers on his headstone and need to check its correct as I am English and not sure. He was born in Kenya and named Njoroge, please help and advise on where the squiggly lines should go on u ? and if it is grammatically ok Thank you muno muno x on one side of his grave it will say Your smile lit up our lives, love you Grandma which is from my mother and on the other side ; Kana gathaka mũno, tene na tene Cũcũ we left kenya when he was nearly 2 years, his kenyan name is Njoroge Ngũgĩ It will be engraved and i dont want any mistakes Emmanuel Kariuki 7 days ago from Nairobi, Kenya
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izokim, this is a tough one. Unless we coin a word, I don't know how to write "square kilometre" in Kikuyu. Rene Reyes Thanks for your visit to my page and liking it. Sorry for delay in responding. To learn Kikuyu, start here. Gacuuru, Thanks for your compliments. I will continue to improve this hub as time goes on. izokim 3 weeks ago
Hi Emmanuel, How do you write "square kilometre" in Kikuyu Isaac Rene Reyes 5 months ago
Those are great lessons. I do arabic classes online at http://preply.com/en/arabic-by-skype right now but I'll take Kikuyu as the next language to learn. thanks for this. Gacuuru 7 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya, Africa
This is a good hub. Kariuki has really put a lot of effort to this. A few corrections here and there might be useful. Emmanuel Kariuki 12 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Jessy Kamau, thanks for visiting this hub. I am happy you found it useful. Emmanuel Kariuki 12 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Hello Johnmburu. Sorry for replying late, but here we go: converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
GÛTHIOGONYWO - to be lied to; to be taken down the garden path NYUGUTO - Something that has been thrown out: from Kunyuguta - to throw out NYUGUITHIA - Never heard this usage - likely from "kuigwithia" - to make one understand. KÛHWEREREKERA – to dry out - eg. when water is boiling and evaporates until finished. MÛHIÛRANIA - swinging each other about- from kuhiuria - to swing something tied to a string. MÛTHITHÛ- savings MÛHATÎKANO - crowding in a small space; pushing and shoving MEGIÎ - this word is unknown to me - check spelling COMBA - originally used to mean "Arab trader", presently used to mean "white man" RANGÎRÎRIA - Step onto something with force and vigour Nobody writes Kikuyu dictionaries any more. The most reliable English Kikuyu Dictionary, and a gem to boot due to its archival of words that are no longer in usage is by G. Benson and A.Ruffell Barlow. I hope that helps johnmburu 13 months ago
Ohoro waku, ngwendaga kumenya kana no unjire dictionary ya Gigikuyu iria iri njege mono. Ni ndirenda kugura imwe na computer. Ni ngatho Jessy Kamau13 months ago
Really nice article..., i like it. My question got answered.Keep up the good work. johnmburu 14 months ago
Ha ha hena ciugo indigithîtie, na nî ingîkena korwo no ûcitaûre. GÛTHIOGONYWO NYUGUTO NYUGUITHIA KÛHWEREREKERA MÛHIÛRANIA MÛTHITHÛ MÛHATÎKANO MEGIÎ COMBA RANGÎRÎRIA Emmanuel Kariuki 15 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
@ Lydiawacera Hi Wacera, thanks for compliments. I consider the Murang'a Kikuyu which flawed into Kiambu to be the Standard Kikuyu whereas the Kirinyaga and Ndia are intelligible variants. However, Nyeri, Murang'a and kiambu are the "Gikuyu Karinga" - pure Kikuyu in terms of culture. This is debatable since the Consolata mission in Nyeri used the Nyeri dialect as the Standard while the Scottish Mission in Tho oto used the Kiambu dialect as the standard. converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
. Statements like "ni ndingiokire" used in Nyeri are hardly put into writing. "ni ingiokire" would be the preferred version to mean I would have come. I stand to be corrected. Turukia - make to lose balance. I have not heard someone use the word to mean disappear from view. "buiria" is the word for disappear. I hope that helps. Lydiawacera 15 months ago
Kariuki nindakugeithia na ni wega ni wira uyu uraruta wa gututhomithia GIgikuyu kiega. Ndi na ciria igiri 1. Is there standard Gikuyu and if yes, which one is? 2. Turukia does the word also mean to dissapear from view? Emmanuel Kariuki 15 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
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@ johnmburu Hi Mburu. Here are the answers to your querries. ÛMATHO - the act of looking for a livelihood. KÛMATHA - to look for sustenance RICÛKWO - from the verb KWÎRICÛKWO - to change one's mind about an issue KWÎGÛMÎRA - to use excessive force when lifting or pushing an object. MAKEGU - uknown word. Check spelling or give an example in a sentence. MÛRARÎ - the carbon webs (soot) that overhang a fireplace IME - morning dew (on grass) AMU - used with the prefix NÎ to mean - for example, like (swahili - kama). This is a rather archaic term which I heard my grandfather use, but not many people use it today. He often used it to punctuate sentences without attaching much meaning to it. (MÎRÎYO YA MWARO) - healthy sweet potato vines . MÎRÎYO - sweet potato vines MÎKENGERIA - a runner weed that is harvested in the bushes to feed sheep and goats. Will find out the scientific name later. WÎRINGIE NÎ RWA NYARÎRÎ - this statement is told to a person to mean "you are on your own now, solve your own problems" johnmburu 15 months ago
Nî ngatho nî ûteithia waku. Ici nî ciugo njiguîte no ndiûî mauge ma cio. ÛMATHO RICÛKWO KWÎGÛMÎRA MAKEGU MÛRARÎ IME AMU (MÎRÎYO YA MWARO) MÎKENGERIA (WÎRINGIE NÎ RWA NYARÎRÎ)
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Emmanuel Kariuki 15 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
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@ bonface I will be posting the "Wakimaitu" kind of greetings soon. Sorry for the delay in responding. Emmanuel Kariuki 15 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Hello readers, I am sorry for the long absence. I am now back, answering questions the best way I can - here goes, @ johnmburu 7 weeks ago Ng'ania - So and so (someone whose name you do not want to mention) Mûnyugî - an ornamental feather placed on the head. Rirûka - be refreshed, like after taking a soft drink in extreme thirst. Ûmbani - the act of winning a girl's love; Ûmbana - win a girl's love ; Ûmbanîrwo - get someone to win a girl's love for you (it can also mean 'to be beaten up by a group - mob justice) Nyugûra - be overripe, to be in great comfort Nyugûrîra - make to be over ripe; make to be in great comfort Mîraniî - not well, in truble, perhaps with dease, opposite of'Nyugûrîra' Thîgîrîra - A place, a town or a where things were placed. Turûkia - make to lose balance (from Turûka - lose balance without completely falling) Rûtumo - a threading (as in a fabric; joint in leather goods) Arahûka - arise ( in the morning; get up early) Itatî - a cooperative; a group meeting for a common purpose. If I have erred, to err is human. Kindly correct me. .............................................. @ eeric49 2 months ago 'Nathi' are called Ground Cherries in English (among many other names). There are many different species in the genus Physalis and are thought to be distant cousins of the tomato. I hope that helps. bonface 16 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Nĩ ndakũgeithia mũthuri ti Kariũki. Nĩwega nĩ wĩra ũcio mwega ũraruta. Mwene Nyaga arũkũrathima. Ngeithi cia ũgĩkũyũ, nonyende wandĩke ũhoro wacio nĩgetha tũcimenye. (wakĩa cũcũ, wakĩa maitũ and the rest) Nĩwega mũno. johnmburu 17 months ago
Wî mwega? Niî nî ndîrenda kûmenya kana no ûndaûrîre ciugo ici cia Gîkûyû na Gîthûngû. Ng'ania Mûnyugî Rirûka Ûmbani/Ûmbana/Ûmbanîrwo Nyugûra/Nyugûrîra Mîraniî
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grra Turûkia Rûtumo Arahûka Itatî Emmanuel Kariuki 17 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
I know those fruits. I still see them growing wild on roadside bushes. I will definitely find out their botanical name if not English. Give me one week. eeric49 17 months ago
Hallo Kariuki, Do you remember those fruits that children used to eat on their way to school "Nathii"? What are they called in English? Gikuyu is tough Emmanuel Kariuki 18 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
The correct spelling of Asha is aca. If I have used Asha, that is an error. it is stated at the beginning of the hub that ' S' is not in the standard Kikuyu alphabet. Spelling errors do and I have seen spelling errors in t he most meticulously edited novels. I do not claim to be an authority and I frequently say "I will find out." Sometimes I even say "I am not sure" - like johnmburu's NI ACUGANAGIRIO - I haven't come across that phrase! I will be happy if you point out the specific lines for corrections later. Lydiawacera 18 months ago
Hi Emmanuel, I have been reading the queries and the answers in this hub but some seem incorrect as much as I'm not an authority in Kikuyu. For instance the letter 's' is not in the Kikuyu orthography but you use it like in the word 'Asha'. other times you confuse or ignore the differences between these two vowels 'u' and 'ũ'. What's your take on this? Emmanuel Kariuki 18 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Lydiawacera - Thanks for compliments. Someone would have to undertake the study. I do not know of any books or texts on that issue, but that's a challenge. Emmanuel Kariuki 18 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
"I swim", add NDI - NI NDITHAMBAGIRA The others are correct but I am not sure about this last one. "He runs from place to place" NI ACUGANAGIRIO Perhaps this will help you to figure out the rule on endings: I eat - ni ndiaga Some one helps me eat -ni ndiithagio I make someone/something eat - Ni ndiithagia some one makes someone/something eat on my behalf - Ni ndiithagirio Lydiawacera 18 months ago
Hi Emmanuel Kariuki, First thank you for the in-depth insights into the Gikuyu language. Please help if you can with a collection of or a comparison in terms of phonological and lexical differences between Kimathira and Southern Gikuyu ( Southern Murang'a and Kiambu). A link,books or any other resources will help. converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
johnmburu 18 months ago
Hello, when i say "I swim", is it NI THAMBAGIRA "It gets surrounded" NI IRIGICAGIRIO "I get chased" NI NDENG'ERAGIO "He runs from place to place" NI ACUGANAGIRIO are these correct? can you please explain how you know the ending to use when you say someone or something does something I get confused with, -GIO -RIO -RA and -GA endings Is there a rule in how to use them? Emmanuel Kariuki 18 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
johnmburu, i wake up (at a particular hour) - Njûkîraga i get out (at a particular hour) , I leave - Nyumagîra TO WALK AROUND - kûrûra, guceracera, kuanganga (a rude word to mean aimless walking about) johnmburu 19 months ago
Hey, i was wondering if you could tell me the word for "TO WALK AROUND" I remember reading it somewhere, and sounds like "kûrûra" but i know it's not correct. can you give me the right word? Thank you johnmburu 19 months ago
Thank you very much. so, "i wake up", would be, Njûkagîra & "i get out", would be, Nyumagîra Emmanuel Kariuki 19 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
johnmburu - Let unswer your first question 1. ngûcû - a dance for elderly men, (grandfathers) no longer practiced. 2. rwambo - a sharp wooden peg. The plural "Nyambo" is used to today to mean the spikes used by police at a road block. 3. Ndîmûtwaragîra - this is the correct one. johnmburu 19 months ago
When i say "i take to him", do i say... Ndîmûtwaragîra or Ndîmûtwarîraga can you please explain in detail? johnmburu 20 months ago
Nî ngatho nî ûndû wa kûndirikania kiugo gîkî(tigîrîrîra) No ûnjîre "ngûcû" na "rwambo" nî kî?
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Emmanuel Kariuki 20 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
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johnmburu - how to say "make sure," 1. tigiririra ati... (ensure that, make sure that); tigiririra atiriri 2. geria muno...(try very hard) 3. Utigirire ni... 4. Ugerie muno ni... Rewrite with the correct special vowels. Hope that helps. johnmburu 20 months ago
Hey can you please tell me how to may "make sure" Emmanuel Kariuki 20 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Absolutely correct!! fjbosko 20 months ago from Brazil
Emmanuel, Is this correct? Mwĩtagwo atĩa? What are your (pl.) names? Twĩtagwo Kamau na Njeri. Our names are Kamau and Njeri Metagwo atĩa? What are their names? Metagwo Kamau na Njeri. Their names are Kamau and Njeri Emmanuel Kariuki 20 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Gĩkeno nĩ gĩakwa (the pleasure is mine) fjbosko 20 months ago from Brazil
Nĩ ngatho, Emmanuel Emmanuel Kariuki 20 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Bosko, here it is.... Are you here for working?= wí gúkú kúruta wíra? No, I am not here for working. = asha ndirí gúkú kúruta wíra. I am here on vacation= ndí gúkú kúhurúka (to rest) - rútha (leave) I am here on leave =ndí gúkú rútha (leave/permission) Have a nice stay (enjoy your stay)= korwo na mahinda mega fjbosko 20 months ago from Brazil
Emmanuel, How to say in Kíkúyú: Are you here for working?= No, I am not here for working. I am here on vacation= Have a nice stay(enjoy your stay)= Emmanuel Kariuki 20 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Good question Bosko - there is no singular for greetings. nindakugeithia - I greet you Ndi na ngeithi kuma gwitu - I have greetings from our home/place (gwitu) I have never thought of it, but now that you ask, even English seems to refer lural for reetin s. I have never heard "I have a reetin ." converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
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Happy New Year and thanks for the challenge. fjbosko 20 months ago from Brazil
Hi Emmanuel What is the singular of "Ngeithi" = greeting? Emmanuel Kariuki 21 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
You may have missed the list under the title "archaic terms for months of the year - mugaa, muratho etc. Emmanuel Kariuki 21 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Hi, Wakaguyu - there may be regional variations to the list provided here. Mworia nyoni is there, falling roughly in july August - the coldest season. Since the onset was the cold weather and a moon sighting, it could fall on either July or August. Wakaguyu 21 months ago
Emmanuel, There was a completely different set of names for the months that I remotely remember hearing as a small child. Unfortunately the only one I remember is Mworia Nyoni (which I believe was May or June )... Is the list you provided original?? Emmanuel Kariuki 22 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Nĩ ithuĩ a? - who are we A? - who? (plural) Uu? - long vowel (special character) - Who (Singular) Nĩ ithuĩ - It is us fjbosko 22 months ago from Brazil
Emmanuel, Please, in the sentence: Nĩ ithuĩ a? What does this "a" mean? Emmanuel Kariuki 22 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Hi bosko, Youv'e gone a notch higher. Let me try and hope I will get help from other Kikuyu speakers "TEACH YOURSELF KIKUYU" = wirute gikuyu "A GRAMMAR OF KIKUYU LANGUAGE"= Mutaratara wa ruthiomi rwa gikuyu (I made this up!) "A KIKUYU-ENGLISH DICTIONARY"= Digicanari ya gikuyu na githungu UNIT= githimi (githimo) DIALOGUE= ndereto VOCABULARY= ????? GRAMMAR FOCUS= ????? EXERCISE= Kigerio (same as exam) Of course the special characters are not included here but one can figure them out. Other readers please help. The question marks indicate that I have hit a wall! fjbosko 22 months ago from Brazil
Emmanuel, Please, how to say this in Kikuyu: "TEACH YOURSELF KIKUYU" = converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
"A GRAMMAR OF KIKUYU LANGUAGE"= "A KIKUYU-ENGLISH DICTIONARY"= UNIT= DIALOGUE= VOCABULARY= GRAMMAR FOCUS= EXERCISE= Emmanuel Kariuki 22 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Bosko, is your email still valid, I sent you my reasons for its removal. Contact me by email and I will send you the translation. fjbosko 22 months ago from Brazil
Good morning Emmanuel! I can't find the last translations you did. Can you help me? Emmanuel Kariuki 22 months ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Hi Bosko, It's always great to hear from you. I have answered you directly on the hub so that the special Kikuyu characters will show in the spelling. Emmanuel Kariuki 2 years ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Bulasio, thanks for compliments. This hub is for teaching the Kikuyu language. Among the languages you have listed, I have only a little knowledge of Lingala. I welcome others to write about those languags. BULASIO 2 years ago
THANK YOU BROTHER!-BUT YOU SEEM TO HAVE LEFT OUT BANTU SPEAKERS LIKE THE KINYARWANDA-THE BAGANDA-GISU ON MOUT MASABA-THE LINGALA!?-WHY SO? IF I MAY ASK!? BULASIO owe BUGANDA Emmanuel Kariuki 2 years ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Hellow malaikapuffer, Thanks for giving me a good reason to keep writing, and of course "gold" compliment. Now I don't know anyone in Vermont/New England but I have started a search. I will get back to you as soon as a I get a response. malaikapuffer 2 years ago
Hi Emmanuel, I've commented on your hubs before as "malaika" but can't remember my password so I have a new account. I am hoping to resume learning Kikuyu (I stopped for a while) and was wondering if you could help me get connected with people in the United States who could converse with me or maybe are in my area (Vermont/New England). I have plenty of Kikuyu friends in Kenya but not that many in the US. Any suggestions? Thank you again for your hubs-- they are like gold! Malaika Emmanuel Kariuki 2 years ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Hello Daudi e Cinza, for numbers, I have written as special hub - Kikuyu Language: Numbers and Counting
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Take a look, and thanks for you comment. Daudi e Cinza 2 years ago from Portland, Oregon
This was a very detailed and informative article. I spent a summer as a teenager at the foot of the Knuckles of God. And I notice that some of what I thought in my much older mind was Kiswahili was in fact Gĩgĩkũyũ - which dialect I have no idea. Anywho in that whole long well thought out article I was looking for the number system: I was Bumbed to find nothing. Emmanuel Kariuki 2 years ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Thanks for the encouraging comment. Kipo, as you say, these communities are very closely linked but unfortunately there are no studies. According to Kikuyu traditions, the Chagga are represented by the 'Ethaga" clan which is testimony that our ancestors recognize the link. I did read somewhere that during migration to present Kamba lands, many Akamba were arbsorbed by the Pare and remained behind. Other connecting similarities are in the language and culture, but without a scientific study, which you can attempt, all these will be deemed to be conjecture. Kipo 2 years ago from Stockholm
Hi Emmanuel, I congratulate you for a nice hub.I have really tried to follow it and i have learnt something. I am from Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and have been digging so much to find out the historical background of Chagga, Meru and Pare from Tanzania with people from Taita, Taveta, Pokomo, Kamba and Kikuyu in Kenya. It seems there are alot of similarities between these societies and yet there is no any documentation which shows that? Do you have any idea? Thanks! Emmanuel Kariuki 2 years ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
@ Bosko - I hear you about the lyrics. My fear is contravening copyright. Try listening to www.kameme.co.ke for Kikuyu music all day long. Other Kikuyu stations are Inooro and Cooro which I am sure have an Internet presence. @jean2013 I have posted the answer to your question on warming food directly in the hub. The special Kikuyu characters do not work in the comment box and they are crucial in getting the pronounciation right. Thanks for reading. jean20132 years ago
Hi id like to know how u say, go warm food in kikuyu. Id appreciate. fjbosko 2 years ago from Brazil
All right, I think at least some lyrics. There are lots of videos at Youtube, but there are no lyrics over the internet Emmanuel Kariuki 2 years ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Hello bosko, Will try to see what is legally possible and post soon. Try also listening to Coro FM and Kameme FM radio stations which are available on the internet. They play lost of music in their interludes. I hear people sending text messages to these stations after listening from Europe and America. Try google to get the actual URL. fjbosko 2 years ago from Brazil
Hi Emmanuel,
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Please, could you post some Kikuyu lyrics as well as the audio? There are lots of videos at Youtube, but there are no lyrics in the internet Yours Bosko Emmanuel Kariuki 3 years ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
the hub with the Lord's prayer now has an audio of the language as requested. Emmanuel Kariuki 3 years ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Paul, it is unfortunate that I couldn't find Audios on Kikuyu on the market except very basic ABCD. This is an area that's open for business. I will search some more and if I can't find, maybe a radio broadcast would do. Paul Kuehn 3 years ago from Udorn City, Thailand
Level 5 Commenter
Emmanuel, This hub is awesome! I am very interested in spoken Kikuyu. Do you have any spoken materials that I could listen to? Voted up and sharing. Emmanuel Kariuki 3 years ago from Nairobi, Kenya
Hub Author
Hi Mbugua Kibera, I got your comment - uyu wira ndungirihika Thanks for the encouragement. I deleted all comments because they had become too many to follow from the beginning. Now we can talk on a new slate. Continue guiding me on what you want to know about the Kikuyu language and even their origins in other hubs. I believe I have a calling to continue to explore the truth because, as they say - the truth will set you free.
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